CHAPTER 5

Aki’s fingers trembled as she touched the door that Knight had slammed shut just moments ago. The sound of the heavy lock turning echoed in her ears, reverberating in the suffocating silence of the room. She was alone now, trapped in the cold, dimly lit space, the truth crashing over her like a tidal wave. Her breath came in shallow gasps, and her knees threatened to buckle beneath her.

Her mind spiraled, replaying the moment over and over—the accident. The screech of tires, the jarring impact, the sickening crunch of metal against metal. She had caused it. She had been careless, distracted, and now someone was lying in a hospital bed because of her. But not just anyone—Kaye. Kaye, Knight’s fiancée. The realization hit Aki like a punch to the gut, and a wave of nausea swept through her.

“No…” she whispered, shaking her head violently, as if denying the truth could make it go away. “No, no, no…”

But it didn’t go away. The reality only grew sharper, more terrifying. She had hit Kaye, the woman whose life seemed perfect, who was everything Aki wasn’t. Beautiful, poised, and engaged to the most renowned young CEO in the industry—Knight, the man who had just stormed out of the room, leaving her to drown in her guilt.

Aki felt the walls closing in, the air thinning. She couldn’t breathe. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor, burying her face in her hands as the sobs came, wracking her body with a force she couldn’t control. Tears streamed down her cheeks, hot and relentless, as her cries filled the room.

“I wasn’t ready for this!” she screamed, her voice hoarse and broken. “I didn’t mean to—oh God, I didn’t mean to!”

Her mind raced, trying to piece together how everything had gone so wrong. She had been rushing that day, late for her meeting at the boutique. She hadn’t seen the other car until it was too late. The crash had been brutal, but she had thought—she had hoped—that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. She remembered stepping out of her car, her hands trembling, her heart pounding in her chest. And then she saw her.

Kaye.

The woman who had been a regular customer at Magic Fashion Boutique. The woman who had smiled at Aki just days before as she tried on a sleek, elegant dress for an upcoming event. Aki had admired her from afar, envying her perfect life. And now she had shattered it.

“I didn’t know… I didn’t know it was her!” Aki cried out, her voice rising in desperation. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, I swear!”

Her words fell flat in the empty room, swallowed by the weight of her guilt. She pressed her palms against her temples, trying to block out the images flooding her mind. Kaye, lying in a hospital bed, motionless. The doctors’ grim faces. Knight, his eyes dark with anger and betrayal as he left Aki behind, locking her in this prison of her own making.

How could she face him now? How could she ever look him in the eye again? He was the CEO of F. Newspapers and Magazines, a man who commanded respect, who had built an empire at such a young age. And she… she was nothing. Just a boutique owner who had made the worst mistake of her life.

Her chest tightened as she thought of the headlines that would follow. The media would devour this. Knight’s fiancée in a car accident, the CEO’s life thrown into chaos. And she was the cause of it all. The guilt gnawed at her insides, eating away at whatever was left of her composure.

“I didn’t mean to ruin everything…” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to ruin his life.”

But she had. There was no escaping that fact now. She had caused trouble—not just for Kaye, not just for Dylan, but for herself. Her boutique would be dragged through the mud, her reputation destroyed. How could she ever recover from this? How could she live with herself, knowing what she had done?

She wiped at her tears, but they kept falling, relentless, as if her body was trying to purge the overwhelming guilt and fear. Her hands shook as she gripped her knees, her whole body shivering with the weight of it all. It was too much. She wasn’t strong enough for this. She wasn’t ready to face the consequences of her actions.

Dylan’s words echoed in her mind, sharp and cold: “You’ve destroyed everything. You’re not getting out of this. I’m going to make sure you suffer, Aki. The way you’ve made me suffer. I’m going to destroy everything you care about. Everything. And you’ll know exactly what it feels like to lose everything.”

She choked back another sob, curling into herself as the truth settled in her bones. She had destroyed everything. And now, there was no going back.

She lifted her tear-streaked face, her vision blurry as she stared at the door that held her captive. She wanted to scream again, to beg for forgiveness, to plead for a way out of this nightmare. But deep down, she knew it was too late.

The damage was done.

Aki sat on the cold floor, her body trembling as the weight of her situation crushed her. Her thoughts raced, spiraling into deeper and darker fears. What would Knight do to her? What would he do to her boutique? Her business, her dream, everything she had worked for—it was all hanging by a thread now. And that thread was in Knight’s hands.

Tears welled up in her eyes again, blurring her vision. She had always dreamed of becoming the best fashion designer in the world. Ever since she was a child, she had worked tirelessly, pouring her heart into every design, every piece of clothing she created. Her boutique was a reflection of that dream, a place where she could finally share her passion with the world. And now, all of that was at risk because of one terrible mistake.

Aki hugged her knees to her chest, her thoughts drifting to her family. Her sister, Mara, depended on her. Aki had been the one to help their family through their financial struggles, the one who kept them afloat when times were tough. How could she let them know about this? How could she tell them that she had not only endangered her own future but theirs as well?

“I can’t let them find out…” she whispered to herself, her voice breaking.

Mara would be devastated. Aki had promised her that everything would be fine, that their struggles were over, and now this. She couldn’t bear the thought of her family finding out about the accident, about the mess she had made. They would be so disappointed. And the media… the media would tear her apart. The story would be everywhere: Fashion Boutique Owner Causes Accident That Hospitalizes CEO’s Fiancée. The tabloids would devour it, and her reputation would be destroyed in an instant.

Aki wiped at her tears, but they kept falling. The more she thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. Knight was in control. He had the power to decide her fate, both personally and professionally. If he wanted to ruin her, he could. And from the way he had looked at her before storming out, she knew he might be planning to do just that.

But still… was there any chance, any possibility, that she could make him reconsider? Could she somehow convince him to spare her boutique, to not drag her name through the mud? She wanted to believe there was a way, some way to appeal to his sense of reason, to show him that it had been a mistake, an accident. But deep down, Aki wasn’t sure. Knight’s eyes had been filled with anger and hurt, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted revenge.

A sob escaped her throat, and she buried her face in her hands again. She was scared—terrified of what was coming. She didn’t know how to fight this. She didn’t know how to face the storm that was about to hit her life.

“This is it…” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I have to face it…”

There was no turning back now. She had no choice but to confront whatever was coming, no matter how terrifying it might be.